Diverter and operating mechanism for article conveyor



R. D. WINTER Feb. 22, 1966 DIVERTER AND OIERATING MECHANISM FOR ARTICLECONVEYOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 10, 1962 R. 0. WINTER 3,236,360

DIVERTER AND OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ARTICLE CONVEYOR Feb. 22, 1966 5Sheets-Sheet 2 vm wm Feb. 22, 1966 R. D. WINTER 3,235,350

DIVERTER AND OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ARTICLE CONVEYOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed Jan. 10. 1962 Z l6 l2 8 1 1 i i A l r r 'r 'r' "1 1 r r I I 22 /6If 8 Feb. 22, 1966 R. D. WINTER 3,235,350

DIVERTER AND OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ARTICLE CONVEYOR Filed Jan. 10,1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Feb. 22, 1966 R WINTER 3,236,360

DIVERTER AND OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ARTICLE CONVEYOR Filed Jan. 10,1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,236,369 DIVERTER ANDOPERATING MECHANISM FDR ARTICLE CONVEYOR Richard D. Winter, Milwaukee,Wis., assignor to Cutler- Hammer, Inc, Milwaukee, Wis. a corporation ofDelaware Filed Jan. 10, 1962, Ser. No. 165,344 4 Claims. (Cl. 198-183)This relates to an article diverter for conveyors and the like.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved formof diverter mechanism for diverting articles being conveyed.

A more specific object is to provide a diverter mechanism of theaforementioned type which is characterized by being biased to adiverting position from which it is movable selectively by the force ofthe articles being carried by the conveyor.

A further specific object is to provide a diverter mechanism of theaforementioned type wherein position control is effected by looking adiverting device in diverting position and alternatively unlocking thediverter device and latching the same in non-diverting position and viceversa.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a diverter mechanismconsisting of a supporting frame, an electromagnetically operatedlatching and locking mechanism and a diverter arm which is spring biasedto the extended or diverting position. All of the parts of the inventionare assembled on a supporting frame to form a unit which is mounted inoperating position at the side of a conveyor. The diverter arm is heldin its non-diverting or retracted position by a latch. When it isdesired that the arm be extended, the electromagnetic actuating means isenergized which releases the retracted position latch and moves adiverting position lock into effective position. The diverter arm, beingspring biased to the diverting position, then moves to its extended ordiverting position and into engagement with the previously mentionedlock. The diverting arm remains locked in this position as long as theelectromagnetic actuating means remains energized. When theelectromagnetic means is deenergized the lock is released and the latchreturns to its effective latching position. The arm is then held in itsdiverting position only by the biasing spring. The next passing conveyedarticle which comes into contact with the arm after release of the lockexerts a force on said arm in opposition to the force of the spring andpushes the arm back to its original retracted position, and intoengagement with the latch. The cycle may then be repeated by againenergizing the electromagnetic actuating means.

Certain features of the device shown herein are claimed in copendingapplications Serial No. 165,442, by Russell R. Haclcbarth, Barney O.Rae, Norbert Sadowski, Thomas P. Shepherd and Richard D. Winter, andSerial No. 165,- 443, by Hackbarth, Rae, Sadowski and Winter, both filedJanuary 10, 1962.

The above mentioned and other objects and advantages of the inventionwill become more apparent and the invention itself will be bestunderstood by referring to the following description of an embodimentthereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a portion of an article conveyor and adiverter device which embodies this invention and which has a coverremoved to reveal certain operating mechanisms;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the diverter device;

FIG. 3 is a view partially in section and to larger scale taken alongline 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing details of a diverter locking assembly;

'ice

FIG. 4 is a similar view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2, but showingdetails of a diverter latching assembly;

FIG. 5 is a similar view taken along line 55 of FIG. 1 showing a detailof the diverter arm mounting;

FIG. 6 is a similar view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 2 showing a limitstop;

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of a lever operating assembly for thediverter latch and lock;

FIG. 8 is a schematic showing of the diverting device to reduced scalein position to divert a conveyed article; and

FIG. 9 is like FIG. 8, but shows a diverter device in successivenon-diverting positions.

In FIG. 1, the diverter device is shown in operating position beside aconveyor 2 upon which articles are normally transported from left toright. The diverter when in the position shown is refer-red to as aright-hand diverter since a conveyed article coming into con-tact withthe diverter arm is diverted in a direction to the right of the conveyedarticles previous direction of travel. A diverter assembled to divertthe conveyed article to the opposite side of the conveyor is referred toas a lefthand diverter. The conveyor illustrated is of the well knownlive roller type; however, the invention is equally usable with othertypes of conveyors. The branch conveyor is not shown in FIG. 1, however,FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate the position of branch conveyor 4 in relationto the main conveyor 2. Referring again to FIG. 1, the conveyor isprovided with members 6 and 8 arranged in parallel relation to serve asside rails of the conveyor. The ends of each axle 10 of rollers 12 aresupported in a pair of opposing open topped vertical slots 14 formed inthe side rails. The axle is provided with suitably fiat sides whichengage the sides of the slot to prevent rotation of the axle whilerollers 12 are freely rotatable on the axles. The rollers 12 are drivenby motor driven endless belt 16 which passes under each roller and isbiased into frictional engagement with the drive rollers 12 by aplurality of idler rollers (not shown) mounted under the belt and spacedintermediately between the drive rollers.

As shown best in FIGS. 8 and 9, the diverter unit 18 is attached to theside of main conveyor 2 opposite the branch conveyor 4 so that diverterarm 20 when in the diverting position extends horizontally over the mainconveyor at a height suitable to deflect a conveyed article from themain conveyor 2 onto the branch conveyor 4. A freely rotatable guidewheel 22 is mounted on a vertical axis at the juncture of side rails atthe entry side of the branch conveyor for guiding conveyed article 24(FIG. 8) as it is deflected from the main conveyor 2 to the branchconveyor 4.

The diverter mechanism is supported by a framework of welded steelconstruction. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 the principal verticalmembers are the two side plates 26 and 28 which are formed of sheetsteel and have a substantially U-shaped horizontal cross section. A pairof diagonal slots 30 (FIG. 2) are cut in the front portion of sideplates 26 and 28 for the purpose of fastening the diverter to the sideof the main conveyor by means of bolts (not shown). At the top of eachside plate there is welded an angle bracket 32 in which there is athreaded hole 34- to receive bolt 36 (FIG. 2) Where by cover 38 (FIG. 2)is fastened to the top of the framework. Extending transversely betweenthe side plates 26 and 28 are three support members 40, 42, 44 made ofsteel angle. The front support 40 (FIGS. 1 and 2 is fastened at its endsby welding to the inner surfaces near the top of the front portions ofend plates 26 and 28. There are two holes 46 (FIG. 5) and 48 (FIG. 1)drilled near the ends of the upper face of front support 40 for thepurpose of fastening a bearing block 50 by means of cap screw 52 (FIG.5). It will be noted that in the illustrated right-hand configurationonly one hole 46 is utilized. The hole 48 at the other end of the frontsupport is used when the diverter is assembled as a lefthand diverter.The reversibility of this and other parts will be more elaboratelydiscussed later. The rear support 42 is welded at its ends to the upperrear portion of the end plates 26 and 28 so that one leg of the steelangle is in a horizontal plane at the top of the support and the otherleg is in a vertical position facing the rear of the diverter. In FIG.1, there is shown a shoulder screw 54 fastened through a hole drilled inthe top surface of the rear support. This screw serves as the stationarypoint of attachment of one end of tension spring 56. When the diverteris assembled in the left-hand configuration, this shoulder screw isfastened through hole 58 near the opposite end of rear support 42 shownin FIGS. 1, 2 and 6. A hearing post 60 is mounted at the mid-point ofthe rear support 42. This bearing post 60 is threaded into rectangularadjusting plate 62 and secured thereto by locking nut 64 (FIG. 1). Theadjusting plate 62 is bolted to rear support 42 by nuts 66 and bolts 68which pass through holes 70 (FIG. 6) in the rear support 42 and slots 72(FIG. 6) in adjusting plate 62. As shown in FIG. 6, the slots 62 in theadjusting plate are elongated in the vertical direction to provide foradjustment of the vertical position of bearing post 60. A semicircularrecess 74 (FIG. 1) is cut into the inner edge of rear support 42 toprovide clearance for the vertical movement of connecting pin 76. Asimilar recess 78 (FIG. 1) provide-s the clearance when the diverter isassembled in a left-hand configuration and the location of pin 76 isreversed. There are also provided two pairs of holes (not shown) in rearsupport 42 to accommodate the two bolts 80 (FIGS. 1 and 8) which fastena conduit box 82 to the rear support. One pair of bolts 80 is utilizedin the right-hand configuration as illustrated and the other pair isused for a left-hand assembly.

The lower support 44 is made of a length of steel angle and is fastenedby welding to the side plates 26 and 28 at the lower edge of thediverter directly below the rear support 42. Lower support 44 serves tosupport the lower edge of the conduit box 82 which is fastened theretoby bolts 84 (FIG. 2). A pair of holes 85 (FIG. 2) are furnished foraccommodation of bolts 84 in a left-hand diverter.

Brackets 86 and 88 (FIGS. 1 and 2) made of steel angle of a crosssection as shown in FIG. 2 are welded to front support 40 and rearsupport 4-2. These brackets serve to furnish support for pivot posts 90and 92 which are secured to the brackets by nuts 94 tightened againstthe opposite faces of the bracket on the threaded end portions of thepivot posts which extend through clearance openings in the brackets.

In considering the construction of the supporting framework asheretofore described it should be noted that the left half of theframework is essentially a mirror image of the right half. As theremainder of the mechanism is hereinafter described, it will be seenthat this type of construction allows for complete reversibility in thatthe same parts may be used to construct either a left-hand or aright-hand diverter.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention incorporates a diverter ofthe arm type, it being understood that application of the invention isnot limited to diverters of this type. The diverter arm 20 is preferablya one-piece casting of a tapered arcuate shape as shown in FIG. 1 and ismounted at its wide end root on the base. Arm 20 is non-rotatablysupported on a shaft 96. The ends of the shaft 96 are non-rotatablysecured to the inner races of anti-friction bearings 98 and the outerraces of bearings 98 are non-rotatably secured in bearing block 50, onebearing above the arm and the other below the arm. Bearing block 50 hasa generally U-shaped appearance when viewed from the front or rear asshown in FIGS. 2 and 5. A vertical bore passes through both the upperand lower arms of the bearing block to receive the two bearings 98 (FIG.1). A slot is provided from the edge of the bearing block to thecircular bore so that a pair of screws 100 (FIGS. 1 and 5), whentightened, serve to bring portions 50a and 50b closer together andthereby clamp bearings 98 in place. Screws 100 also support stop plate102. The mounting slots 102a are elongated to provide for lateraladjustment of the stop plate 102 which is positioned so that it touchesinner edge 101 (FIG. 5) of arm 20 when arm 20 is in its normal extendedposition. The function of plate 102 is to pre vent accidentalover-extension of arm 20. As can also be seen, in FIG. 5, bearing block50 is bolted both to front support 40 by bolt 5-2 and to side plate 26by bolts 104 (FIGS. 1 and 5). The tension spring 56 is attached to thearm 20 by shoulder screw 106 (FIG. 1) and serves to bias the movable arm20 to the extended position shown in FIG. 1.

Since the top of the arm 20 is a mirror image of the bottom, it isreversible by simply turning it over and may be used as either aleft-hand or a right-hand diverter arm. In either case, the concave edgeof the arm is the edge which comes in contact with the conveyed articleduring the process of diversion. This reversible structure of arm 20 isthe subject matter of the aforementioned copending application SerialNo. 165,442, by Haclrbarth et al. On the upper and lower surfaces oftransverse cross-members 108 and 110 there are formed locking recessesand latching ratches. FIG. 3 shows a cross-section through crosspiece108 which illustrates the shape of the locking recesses 114. FIG. 4illustrates the crosssectional shape of the ratch surfaces 116 oncrosspiece 110.

A conduit box 82 of sheet metal construction serves to enclose theelectrical control components and the solenoid 118. As shown in FIG. 2,the conduit box with cover removed is open at its front and top. Agenerally rectangular sheet of metal 120 (FIG. 1) bent at 90 degreesserves to cover the front and partially cover the top of the conduit boxwhen fastened to angle brackets 122 (FIG. 2) by bolts 124 (FIG. 1). Anotch 126 (FIG. 1) is formed in the rear edge of cover 120 to allow forfree vertical movement of the solenoid plunger 128. The rear panel ofconduit box 82 extends upwardly parallel and in abutting relation to thevertical leg of rear sup port 42 and is bolted thereto by bolts 80 (FIG.1). Another portion of the rear panel of conduit box 82 extendsdownwardly next to the vertical leg of lower support 44 and is fastenedthereto by bolts 84 (FIG. 2). A toggle switch 130 is mounted in the rearpanel of conduit box 82 and is inserted in the control circuit toprovide means at the diverter location for testing the control circuit.In the bottom panel of conduit box 82, there is mounted an electricalsocket 132 to which is connected a cable (not shown) which supplies thesolenoid actuating current. Bolts 133 serve to fasten the mountingflange 132a of socket 132 to the panel.

The solenoid 118 (FIG. 2) has a plunger 128 which is moved upwardly whenelectrical current is applied to the solenoid. It is fastened to theright side panel of conduit box 82 by means of bolts 134 (FIG. 2)extending through alined openings in such panel and mounting brackets1180. The energizing electric current when applied at socket 132 iscarried to the solenoid 118 by wire leads 136.

The locking means which holds the diverter arm in the extended positionis best illustrated in FIG. 3. The locking arm 138 is .a bar ofrectangular cross section (FIGS. 2 and 7) with a cylindrical threadedextension (not shown) at one end onto which is attached the socket 140of a ball joint. The cooperating ball member 142 of the ball joint isinserted into the socket 140 in an approximately right angle as shown inFIGS. 1 and 7. At the opposite end of the arm 138 there is mounted aspring biased locking pin or plunger 144 of a generally cylindricalshape. An insert 146 (FIG. 3) of wear resistant plastic is pressed intoa recess formed in the hemispherical upper end of pin 144. Near thelower end of pin 144 there is a circumferential shoulder 148.Immediately below shoulder 148 is a cylindrical portion 150 of reducedradius which serves to accommodate one end of helical compression spring152. The locking pin 144 is mounted within a cylindrical plastic bearing154. A shoulder 155 (FIG. 3) at the upper surface of arm 13S preventsbearing 154 from moving upwardly in response to the force exerted byspring 152. Upward movement of pin 144 is limited by shoulder 148 as itcomes in contact with the lower surface of bearing 154. Pin 144 as shownin FIG. 3 is in its extreme upward position with respect to arm 138 andit can be seen that pin 144 can be forced downwardly against the bias ofspring 152. Spring 152 is mounted within the cylindrical bore 158 ofspring retainer 160. The outer surfaces of retainer 160 are rectangularas shown in FIG. 7. At the upper end of retainer 160 there are providedtwo mounting tabs 162 (FIG. 3) through which pass bolts 164 to secureretainer 16$ to arm 138. A cylindrical plastic bearing 166 is securelyinserted in a transverse hole in arm 138. Pivot post 99 fits looselyinto bearing 166 to form the pivot point for locking arm 13S.

Diverter arm 26 is held in its retracted position against the bias ofspring 56 (FIG. 1) by the latching means best illustrated in FIG. 4.Latch arm 176 is a bar of rectangular cross section pivotally mountedupon pivot post 92 which passes through cylindrical plastic bearing 172.Ball joint socket 174 is threaded onto a cylindrical threaded extension(not shown) of latch arm 17% and thereby securely fastened to the end ofarm 17%. The ball member 176 of the ball joint is inserted into thesocket 174 at approximately a right angle to the longitudinal axis ofarm 170 as shown in FIG. 7. At the opposite end of arm 170 there is aspring biased pawl 17S (FIGS. 4 and 7) which is pivotally mounted upon ashaft 189 which passed transversely through arm 170. A wear resistantplastic wear plate 132 is fastened to the arm 184 of the pawl 178 bymeans of rivets The arm 184 of the pawl is biased in its normal upwardposition by tension spring 188 (FIG. 4) located in the longitudinalgroove 1% in the lower face of arm 178. One end of spring 188 isfastened to pin 192 within groove 190 and the other end is hooked overthe lower edge of the pawl and through a small hole near the lower edge(FIGS. 4 and 7). The movement of pawl 178 in response to the forceapplied by spring 188 is limited by the engagement of inner surface 1%(FIG. 4) with the end surface of arm 1'71). As is shown in FIG. 4, thereis a relief 1% on the end of arm 170 to permit clockwise rotation of thepawl 178 against the bias of spring 188.

A rocker arm 2'30 interlocks the locking arm 138 and the latching arm171') and provides linkage to the solenoid plunger 128. It is pivotallymounted upon pivot pin 60 (FIG. 7) which passes through plastic bearing202. Ball members 142 and 176 are securely fastened to the ends ofrocker arm 29%. An elongated slot 204 (FIG. 7) passes transverselythrough rocker arm 200 to accommodate pin 76 which also passes throughthe two arms of the U-shaped upper end of plunger 128 of solenoid 118.

A vertically adjustable stop plate 206 (FIGS. 6 and 7) is provided tolimit the clockwise rotation of rocker arm 2150 as shown in FIG. 2. Whenthe solenoid 118 is not energized the lower edge of rocker arm 200 restsupon the upper edge of stop plate 205 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. Thisplate is fastened to the conduit box 82 by means of bolts 2138. Anelongated slot 216 (FIG. 6) is provided to allow for vertical adjustmentof the stop plate 206.

The operation of the mechanism will now be described.

Let it be assumed that diverter arm 20 is in its nondiverting orretracted position and that solenoid 118 is deenergized. Under theseconditions, the operating mechanism assumes the position shown in FIG.2. The unsymmetrical distribution of weight, due principally to the massof plunger 128 at one end of rocker arm 2190, causes the rocker arm 2%to rotate about pivot post 60 in a clockwise direction (FIG. 2) untilthe lower face of rocker arm 2191] comes into contact with the upperedge of stop plate 266 (FIGS. 2 and 6). The end of rocker arm 26% whichis connected to solenoid plunger 128 is then in its lowest position.Since latching arm 170 is connected to rocker arm 290 through ball 176and socket 174 (FIG. 7), latching arm 179 rotates about pivot post 92 sothat the pawl end of arm 170 moves upwardly. Paw] 17S and its associatedwear plate 152 moves upwardly to engage the lower ratch surface 116 ondiverter arm 29 (FIG. 4). Referring to FIG. 4, it may be seen that pawl1'78 and ratch surface 116 cooperate to restrain diverter arm 20 againstclockwise movement toward its diverting position and allow arm 20 to beretracted somewhat further in the counterclockwise direction. Ifdiverter arm 21? is moved further into its retracted position, wearplate 182 is depressed by the teeth of ratch surface 116 (FIG. 4) andpawl 173 rotates about pin 180 against the bias of spring 188 to allowfurther retraction of arm 21 Clockwise pivoting of arm 20 in response tothe force exerted by tension spring 56 is prevented by the engagement ofwear plate 132 with the vertical faces of the teeth of ratch surface 116(FIG. 4). As previously noted pawl 178 is restrained fromcounterclockwise rotation by the contact of surface 196 with the end oflatching arm 170. A force exerted upon arm 20 which would tend to extendarm 28 would also tend to rotate latching arm 17% in a counterclockwisedirection about pivot post 176 and thereby tend to lower the pawl end ofarm 170 and disengage the pawl. Such a force is resisted principally bythe previously mentioned unbalance of the operating mechanism, and itmay be seen by tracing the linkage as shown in FIG. 7 that such a forcewould also tend to move pin 144 upwardly toward the lower surface ofcrosspiece 168 of diverter arm 20. Since the upper end of pin 144 isclose to said surface of arm 21] when the arm is latched as shown inFIG. 2, the force which would tend to extend diverter arm 20 moves pin144 into contact with the lower surface of arm 20 and said force iseventually transmitted to spring 152 (FIG. 3). It has been found inpractice that a spring suitable to provide effective locking bias tolocking pin 144 is also sufficiently stiff to resist those forcestending to accidentally unlatch arm 2t) that are encountered duringnormal operation of the diverter.

When the operating mechanism is in the latching position, the end ofrocker arm 200 which is connected through ball member 142 and socket tolocking arm 13% is in its upper position, and locking arm 138 isrotate-d about pivot pin 90 so that locking pin 144 is in its lowerposition as shown in FIG. 2. In this position the rounded upper end ofpin 144 is below the lower surface of diverter arm 21) or lightlytouching the lower surface. This position of pin 144 may be described asits released position since pin 144 when in this position will notengage locking groove 114 when said groove becomes positioned above theend of pin 144.

When it is desired that a conveyed article approaching the diverterstation be diverted laterally upon the main conveyor or onto a branchconveyor, an energizing current is applied to the electical terminals ofsocket 132 and is transmitted to solenoid 118 through leads 136 andswitch 130. This application of current to solenoid 118 cause plunger128 to be moved upwardly. Referring to FIG. 2, rocker arm 20% is rotatedin the counterclockwise direction since pin 76 connects plunger 128 tothe right end of rocker arm 2G0. This motion is transmitted through theball joints at the ends of rocker arm 200 (FIG. 7) to the latching armand the locking arm 138. Latching arm 170 and locking arm 138 are inturn rotated about their respective pivot posts 92 and 90 so that pawl178 is lowered and locking pin 144 is biased upwardly by compressionspring 152 (FIG. 4) against the lower surface of crosspiece 108 (FIG. 1)of diverter arm 20. As pawl 178 moves downwardly, the wear plate 182disengages the teeth of ratch surface 116. Since the contact of pin 144with the flat lower surface of arm produces very little restraint to themovement of arm 20, diverter arm 24 and shaft 96 are free to pivot inthe bearings 98 (FIG. 1) toward its diverting position in response tothe force exerted by tension spring 56 (FIG. 1). As diverter arm 20moves toward its diverting position, the lower surface of crosspiece 108slides over the upper end of locking pin 144 and holds pin 144 partiallydepressed against the bias of spring 152. When diverter arm 20 reachesits diverting position as shown in FIG. 1, locking recess 114 reaches aposition directly over the end of pin 144, and pin 144 being biasedupwardly by spring 152 slides upwardly into groove 114 as shown in FIG.3 thereby stopping the motion of arm 20 and locking it in its divertingposition. As pin 144 engages recess 114, the inner surface 141 of arm 20simultaneously touches the edge of stop plate 102 as shown in FIGS. 1and 5. However, the primary purpose of stop plate 102 is not to brakethe extending motion of arm 29 but to prevent outward motion of arm 20after locking pin 144 is retracted from groove 114 preceding retractionof arm 20.

As long as solenoid 118 remains energized pin 144 will remain inengagement in recess 114 and diverter arm thereby remains locked indiverting position and will deflect conveyed articles 24 from the mainconveyor 2 to branch conveyor 4 as shown in FIG. 8. If solenoid 118should be deenergized during deflection when an article is still incontact with arm 20 as shown in FIG. 8, arm 20 will not unlock since thefriction of the mechanical system, principally the friction of pin 144against the edge of recesses 114, is suflicient to overcome theunbalance of the mechanism and prevent rotation of locking arm andconsequent disengagement of pin 144 from recess 114 until the conveyedarticle no longer exerts a force upon arm 2th. This means of preventingunlocking of the arm 20 during diversion is the subject matter of thepreviously mentioned copending application Ser. No. 165,443 byHackbarth, Rae, Sadowski and Winter.

When it is desired that diversion be discontinued, the solenoidenergizing current is terminated, and the previously described unbalanceof the operating mechanism due principally to the mass of plunger 128causes the locking and latching arms to rotate so that locking pin 144drops out of groove 114 and pawl 17% rises to a position where it willengage the teeth of ratch surface 116 when arm 20 is retracted. Afterpin 144 disengages groove 114, arm 20 is held in its extended positionagainst stop plate 102 by tension spring 56. The next conveyed articleto come into contact with arm 20 exerts a force on arm 20 whichovercomes the bias of spring 56 and pushes arm 20 back to its retractedposition as shown in FIG. 9. The conveyed article then continues on astraight path down the main conveyor past the diverter. As arm 21) isretracted, the teeth of ratch surface 116 engage pawl 178, and arm 20 isthereby held in retracted position until the solenoid is againenergized. The pawl 178 may engage any one of the plurality of teeth onratch surface 116 depending upon how far arm 20 is pushed by theconveyed article. This plurality of teeth provides for variation in thesize of the conveyed article or on its lateral position upon theconveyor. If a succeeding conveyed article should happen to strike theretracted arm 21 the arm might be further retracted so that pawl 173might engage another tooth. However, this occurrence would in no otherWay eifect operation of the diverter.

When diversion of one or more conveyed articles is again desired, thecycle of operation is repeated by energization of solenoid 118.

While the apparatus hereinbefore described is effectively adapted tofulfill the objects stated, I do not intend to confine my inventtion tothe particular preferred embodiment of diverter device and operatingmechanism disclosed, inasmuch as it is susceptible of variousmodifications without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a mechanism for selectively diverting articles being conveyed,

(a) a member biased for movement to one position wherein it is effectiveto divert articles and movable against its bias to a non-divertingposition,

(b) means for locking said member in said one position,

(c) means for latching said member in said non-diverting position,

(d) and means operable to release said latching means and render saidlocking means effective to permit said member to move to and be lockedin said one position and also operable to release said locking means andrender said latching means effective so that said member can be moved toand be latched in said nondiverting position by articles being conveyed.

2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the last mentionedmeans includes electroresponsive means which provides the first statedaction when in one condition of energization and which provides the laststated action when in the opposite condition of energization.

3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said locking meanscomprises a recess in said member and a spring biased plunger which whenefiective registers with and projects into said recess when said memberis in said one position, and wherein said latching means comprises aratch surface having a plurality of teeth on said member and a pawlwhich when effective engages with any tooth on the ratch surfacedepending upon how far said member is moved toward said non-divertingposition.

4. The combination according to claim 3 together with pivoted leversinterconnecting said pawl and said plunger so that said plunger is movedto eifective position when said pawl is released from engagement withsaid ratch surface and vice versa.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,383,188 6/1921Chafiin 246315 1,563,446 12/ 1925 Sholtz. 1,668,529 5/1928 Jennings.

SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

JULIUS E. WEST, ERNEST A. FALLER, Examiners.

1. IN A MECHANISM FOR SELECTIVELY DIVERTING ARTICLES BEING CONVEYED, (A)A MEMBER BIASED FOR MOVEMENT TO ONE POSITION WHEREIN IT IS EFFECTIVE TODIVERT ARTICLES AND MOVABLE AGAINST ITS BIAS TO A NON-DIVERTINGPOSITION, (B) MEANS FOR LOCKING SAID MEMBER IS SAID ONE POSITION, (C)MEANS FOR LATCHING SAID MEMBER IN SAID NON-DIVERTING POSITION, (D) ANDMEANS OPERABLE TO RELEASE SAID LATCHING MEANS AND RENDER SAID LOCKINGMEANS EFFECTIVE TO PERMIT SAID MEMBER TO MOVE AND BE LOCKED IN SAID ONEPOSITION AND ALSO OPERABLE TO RELEASE SAID LOCKING MEANS AND RENDER SAIDLATCHING MEANS EFFECTIVE SO THAT SAID MEMBER CAN BE MOVED TO AND BELATCHED IN SAID NON-DIVERTING POSITION BY ARTICLES BEING CONVEYED.